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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Terry Blizzard has been named the Saint John Sea Dogs
strength and conditioning coach.

Blizzard is a personal trainer and owner of Afterburn
Performance, a training centre that many Sea Dogs players have trained at over
the past few years. A news release notes that Blizzard and the facility “played
a key role in developing former Sea Dogs Jonathan Huberdeau, Charlie Coyle,
Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco and Kevin Gagne.”

"Over the past four years we have seen Terry's role
with the hockey club expand and grow, and we have greatly valued his
contribution to the team," said Sea Dogs General Manager Darrell Young in the release.
"We are extremely fortunate to have someone of his ability and talent in
the Saint John area and our players have benefited greatly from his
knowledge.

"We have dedicated student-athletes who deserve the
best, and we need to show them that we are dedicated to their
development."

Former Sea Dogs goaltender Travis Fullerton has signed a Standard Player Contract for the 2014-2015 season with
the Elmira Jackals of the East Coast Hockey League.

"Travis is a warrior
between the pipes," said Jackals head coach Jamie Russell in a release.
"He possesses a tremendous work ethic and displays his will to win each
and every night. Travis and Josh (Robinson) will push each other for the
starting job, which will create a competitive atmosphere throughout the
season."

Fullerton spent parts of two seasons with Saint John. He
posted a 2.98 GAA and .905 SV% in 2007-08 and helped the Sea Dogs reach the
QMJHL semi-finals in their first ever post-season appearance.

The Riverview native then spent five seasons with the UNB
Varsity Reds, winning three CIS Championships. He played with the ECHL’s Las
Vegas Wranglers last season.

"I couldn't be more
happy to be joining the Jackals for the upcoming season," said Fullerton
in the release. "I am excited to meet my teammates and enjoy a great
season in Elmira."

The Jackals are affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres.

TRADE PERIOD

The QMJHL's summer trade period opens
on Friday. The trade period will close on Monday, August 18th at 10 a.m. EST.
#qmjhl#lhjmq
—
Jeremy Fraser (@FraserTQN) July
29, 2014

NHL DRAFT RECAP

Hockey’s Future has an article recapping how the QMJHL
did at the NHL Draft. The site briefly mentions Sea Dogs defenseman Olivier LeBlanc
who was taken in the seventh round by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Two more free agents have been given invites to Saint
John Sea Dogs training camp.

The team announced today that forwards Shawn Hubley and
Isaac Ceh have each been invited to attend next month’s camp.

Hubley, a 17-year old Sackville native, spent last season
with the Halifax Macs of the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League where he
registered seven goals and 10 assists in 30 regular season games. He added
another eight goals and eight assists in 17 playoff matches, helping the squad
win NSMMHL Championship. At the 2014 Major Midget Atlantics Tournament, Hubley
had four goals and six points in five matches en route to helping the Macs win
the tournament and being named MVP.

"I love the way (Hubley) gets under the opposition's skin,
and in order to be effective in the QMJHL, he will have to play the same,
abrasive style while minimizing the amount of penalties he takes,” said Sea
Dogs general manager Darrell Young in a release.

Young also noted that Hubley was one of the first players
to receive an invite to camp after he was not drafted nor signed by another
QMJHL club.

Hubley is listed at 6'1", 190 lbs.

Ceh, an 18-year old American from Chicago, recorded five
goals and five assists in 17 games with the Chicago Mission Under-18 team last
year. He added another 14 goals and eight assists in 18 contests with the Belle
Tire Under-18 squad.

The Sea Dogs’ news release notes that he was a late cut
from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s last year.

"I had the opportunity to watch him at the USA
National Championships and came away impressed with his skill and speed,” said
Young.

"We are not bringing Isaac here to compete for a
bottom-six spot, but rather a spot in the top six forwards. If Isaac produces
the offense we believe he can, then he will earn a spot with the Sea
Dogs."

Ceh is listed at 5'11", 185 lbs.

Saint John’s full training camp roster has not been
released yet. The team hits the ice for training camp on Monday, August 11.

Hockey Canada’s massive under-17 development camp began
today in Calgary.

Among the more than 100 players invited to attend are Sea
Dogs prospects Luke Green and Julien Tessier. Green, a defenseman from Bedford,
was taken first overall by Saint John in May’s QMJHL Entry Draft while Tessier,
a forward from Quebec, was taken 15th overall.

The group of players have been divided into six teams for
the camp that runs until next Monday. Practices began today and the games will
begin on Thursday.

Green, who recorded 17 goals and 20 assists in 34 games
with Newbridge Academy last season, will play with Team Blue. Tessier, who
registered seven goals and 14 assists in 38 games with Trois-Rivieres last
year, is part of Team Green.

Team Green plays their first game on Thursday night
against Team White. Team Blue opens action on Friday against Team Black. Each
team will play three games.

The camp is the beginning of Hockey Canada’s under-17
program revamp. Instead of regional teams representing Canada at the World
Under-17 Hockey Challenge, there will be three national teams. The tournament
is also taking place November 2-8 rather than over New Year’s.

The camp can be followed on the Hockey Canada website
here. The Canadian Press also has a big article on the camp here.

Folks on Twitter were noticeably upset and confused over
the sudden switch. I’m definitely going to miss some of the local talk shows as
well as the programming picked up from The Fan in Toronto. And let us not
forgot the legendary John Tesh Radio Show that kept us company before and after many Sea Dogs broadcasts.

The Sea Dogs have been broadcast on News 88.9 for the
past eight seasons. The team signed a deal with New Song 96.1 FM a few weeks
ago.

A few other things…

The New Song FM signal is definitely weaker than News
88.9’s, but it’s way better than having no FM broadcasts at all, obviously.
I do feel bad for some of the fans who live outside the Saint John area who
could be – depending on their Internet quality – cut off.

20-year olds typically don’t generate a huge return in
trades, but this is an awfully low pick. One has to think that, given Anderson’s
health problems in the second half of last season, that this is a conditional
trade and the Sea Dogs will receive more down the road if all goes well with
the PEI native. We shall see.

Anderson recorded 11 goals and 14 assists in 38 games
last season. He only played in a few second half games, not playing again after taking a big hit on January 5, a hit that
forced him to spend some time in hospital.

The Morell, PEI native was a sixth round pick of Saint John in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft. He played in 127 career games with the Sea Dogs over three seasons, collecting 29 goals and 39 assists. In two playoff contents he registered an assist.

Last season, Anderson scored 11 goals and 14 assists in 38 games. He did not play again after taking a hard hit on January 5, a hit that saw him spend some time in hospital.

It was inevitable that one of Saint John’s 20-year olds would be traded at some point since they had four. This trade leaves the team with the league limit of three: forward Mark Tremaine, defenseman Michael Abbott, and goaltender Sebastien Auger.

The Sea Dogs host the Foreurs on Sunday, December 3 and travel to Val-d'Or on Saturday, December 13.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

The Saint John Sea Dogs made a great move today,
announcing that fans will be able to attend the team’s pre-season opener on
August 15 free of charge.

According to the team, “fans must obtain a ticket for an
assigned seat through the Harbour Station Box Office, but the ticket is free.
Tickets will be available to season ticket holders beginning Friday, July 25th,
and to the general public on Tuesday, August 5th.”

"We think this is perfect way to kick off our
tenth-anniversary season," said Shanna Hopkins, Manager of Business
Development, in a release. "We want to recognize the contributions our fans have made
since the Sea Dogs first hit the ice by giving as many people as possible the
opportunity to see the opening game of the preseason."

This should allow some fans who aren’t able to regularly
attend games a great chance to see some action. It should also create some much-needed
hype and atmosphere for a game that would, under normal circumstances, be scarcely
attended.

The Sea Dogs will host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
that night. It’s also worth noting that the game features at 7pm start time.

Having a free exhibition game has become a popular
promotion for many hockey teams over the past few years. It hasn't caught on at the junior level all that much, but maybe that will begin to change.

Saint John will play six pre-season games in total with
three of them taking place on Harbour Station ice. The Dogs host the Halifax
Mooseheads on August 22 and Charlottetown Islanders on September 5.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The team announced at a press conference this afternoon
that they will be moving towards a community-owned model, which will keep the
basketball squad playing at Harbour Station for at least the next two seasons.

"Members of the Southern New Brunswick basketball
community reached out to us to help make sure the team is here for future
generations," said Mill Rats President & General Manager Ian
McCarthy. "They are assembling an entity that will acquire ownership
in the Mill Rats over the coming months."

According to a press release, the group is in formation
and seeking additional members.

TRURO TICKETS

Tickets to the Saint John Sea Dogs’ pre-season game in
Truro are now on sale.

Tickets for the Halifax Mooseheads preseason game versus
the Saint John Sea Dogs in Truro are on sale now. The game will take place at
the Rath Eastlink Community Centre on Saturday, August 23rd at 7p.m. Tickets
are available online at Ticketpro.caor in person at the R.E.C.C. for
$8.50.

According to the Moose site, last year’s contest in Truro
featured a packed house of roughly 3,200 fans. The game is a fundraiser for
Truro Minor Hockey.

Like Huberdeau, Drouin was sent back to junior for
additional seasoning after being a high NHL draft pick. Huberdeau had 72 points
in 37 games in his final full season of junior while Drouin had 108 in 46
games.

Huberdeau, after the lockout ended, won the NHL’s rookie
of the year award. Drouin, who is basically a lock to make the Bolts, will look to
do the same.